perispirit

Meanings

1. A layer of an abstract, ethereal material that is said by spiritualists to serve as the bond between one's spirit and physical body.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Ancient Greek περῐ́ (perĭ́)der. English peri- Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-der.? Latin spīrō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin spīritus Old French espiritbor. Middle English spirit English spirit English perispirit From peri- + spirit. In Allan Kardec's 1857 book The Spirits Book (Le Livre des Esprits in original French), the term is defined with a direct analogy to perisperm (“layer of nutritive tissue that surrounds the embryo of a seed in some angiosperms”).